Evidence and knowledge gaps on pumpkin in sub-Saharan African food systems: a scoping review

Abstract Pumpkin holds significant potential to improve food security, nutrition, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa, yet is one of many neglected and underutilized crop species which has received limited attention from researchers and policymakers. This scoping review synthesizes findings from 44 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources across multiple disciplines to appraise the state of research on pumpkin within sub-Saharan African food systems. It explores value chain dynamics, dimensions of the food environment, consumer behaviour, and policy factors, alongside outcomes for nutrition, health, economic development, environmental sustainability, and social equity. The evidence base is geographically concentrated – with 41 studies (93%) having a single-country focus and the majority conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa—and shows limited methodological diversity, with 33 (75%) employing cross-sectional observational designs. Fifteen documents examined value chain activities, 18 focused on consumer behaviour, and 37 provided insights into external and personal dimensions of the food environment – although none explicitly applied a food environment framework. Most studies centred on consumers and the use of pumpkin leaves and fruit. Production was the most frequently analysed value chain component, with other areas significantly underexplored. Insights on vendors, processors, and policymakers were largely absent, as were urban and peri-urban contexts. Of food environment dimensions, findings on availability, product properties, and desirability were most common. Evidence on outcomes of pumpkin production, value chain participation, and consumption remains limited: with a primary focus on social equity and food and nutrition security. Our review identifies the need for an interdisciplinary, systems-oriented approach in future research, covering the entire value chain and incorporating gender, market, and policy dimensions. Collated evidence supports the need for targeted interventions to improve processing, enhance food safety, shift cultural perceptions, and strengthen governance mechanisms, for pumpkin to contribute more substantially to resilient, equitable African food systems.